Guillermo Del Toro Confirms He Turned Down ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’

It’s all gone pretty quiet on the STAR WARS front recently. After Disney acquired Lucusfilm and subsequent rights to the iconic space saga franchise in October last year, fanboys went nuts when confirmation of a new trio of science-fiction epics were on the way. Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Arndt is the man tasked with breathing new life into a franchise left underwhelmed by it’s original creator Geoge Lucas’ overblown prequels. As for a director, it’s still yet-to-be confirmed but KICK-ASS and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS’ Michael Vaughn seems to be nailed on after frequent collaborator Jason Flemyng let slip he’d signed on.

As for those who came close to landing the much sought-after project, visionary in-demand director Guillermo del Toro has claimed his representatives received a call asking if he’d be interested. Check out what he’s said:

We got one phone call to my agent saying, ‘Is Guillermo interested?’ And basically I have so much stuff already of my own, and I’m pursuing stuff that I’m generating already…” that he turned it down. “It was just a phone call, it didn’t go past that, it was very nice to be asked, but believe it or not, I’m busy enough. As a geek, I would have loved to see Brad Bird take it.

Del Toro is certainly busy with either/and/or producing, directing and writing upcoming projects such as MAMA, PACIFIC RIM (and sequel), PINOCCHIO, THE HAUNTED MANSION, KUNG FU PANDA 3 and a HULK TV show. He’s also desperate to complete his HELLBOY trilogy and is seeking a studio to finance.

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Craig was our great north east correspondent, proving that it’s so ‘grim up north’ that losing yourself in a world of film is a foregone prerequisite. He has been studying the best (and often worst) of both classic and modern cinema at the University of Life for as long as he can remember. Craig’s favorite films include THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, JFK, GOODFELLAS, SCARFACE, and most of John Carpenter’s early work, particularly THE THING and HALLOWEEN.